Surge Remote Work Clarification


January 10, 2022

Surge remote is still a relatively new thing for state employees, and there have been some questions about what it means and what triggers a remote work day.

The surge telework bill  (SB15) passed last year (2021) as a way to enable teleworking for state employees under certain circumstances, namely “Special Circumstance Days” and “Mandatory Action Days”.

Special Circumstance Days are defined as days where heavy snowfall or other circumstances pose a risk to employee safety. These are determined by the governor and and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.

Mandatory Action Days are defined as poor air days, where the air pollution levels are at a point that is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. In order for mandatory action days to be surge remote work days, the notice from the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) needs to be issued at least 48 hours in advance. This means if the DAQ issues mandatory action for the following day, it will not be a surge remote work day. The 48 hour advance notice is necessary to allow supervisors and employees time to prepare for surge remote work.

The DAQ forecasts update regularly, but should not be used as a guide for remote work. The best place to look to find out if a certain day is going to be a surge remote work day is the Utah Remote Work Utah Twitter account https://twitter.com/RemoteWorkUtah. Also check for emails from Deputy Director Jacob Hart for official confirmation of surge telework for bad air quality days. 

Talk to your supervisor for questions about remote work and surge remote work days.